Dolly Parton is a famous American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Dolly Parton makes her album debut in 1967 with Hello, I’m Dolly, which led to success during the remainder of the 1960s before her sales and chart peak came during the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. Check all the details below about Dolly Parton Wiki, Age, Height, Husband, Family, Children, Career, Net Worth, Biography & More.
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Dolly Parton Wiki/Biography
Dolly Parton was born on 19th January 1946 (Age: 77 years, as of 2023) in Pittam Center, Tennessee, U.S. Her full real name is Dolly Rebecca Parton, and she was commonly known as Dolly Parton.
Dolly Parton’s childhood photo
Her nationality is American and her ethnicity is White. Her zodiac sign is Capricorn and she follows Christianity (religion). Her profession is a famous singer, songwriter, actress, and so on.
Dolly Parton Educational Qualification
Dolly Parton completed her schooling in her hometown. After that, she attended Sevier Country High School where she is graduating in 1964. And then, she enters her career and work hard for money and for her name and she succeeded in that and build her name in America.
Dolly Parton Physical Stats
Dolly Parton height
- Height: 5′ 0″ inches
- Weight: 48 kg
- Body Measurements: 34-26-34 inches
- Eye Color: Green
- Hair Color: Blond
Dolly Parton Family & Parents
Dolly Parton was born into a middle-class family to American Parents. Her father’s name is Robert Lee Parton and her mother’s name is Avie Lee Owens. She has 11 siblings. She is the fourth of 12 children. Her sibling’s names, are Willadeene, David Wilburn, Coy Denver, Robert Lee, Stella Mae, Classie Nan, Randel Huston (deceased), Larry Gerald (deceased ), twins Floyd Estel (deceased), and Frieda Estelle, and Rachel Ann.
Dolly Parton with parents and siblings
Her father known as “Lee”, worked in the mountains of East Tennessee, first as a sharecropper and later tending his own small tobacco farm and acreage. He also worked construction jobs to supplement the farm’s s. Her family always supports her decisions and her career.
Dolly Parton’s Husband & Children
Dolly Parton’s relationship status is committed and her marital status is married. She married Carl Thomas Dean on 30th May 1966 in Ringgold, Georgia. She does not use Dean’s surname professionally, she has stated that her passport reads, ” Dolly Parton Dean” and that she sometimes uses Dean when signing contracts.
Dolly Parton with her husband Carl Thomas Dean
Her husband is retired from running an asphalt road-paving business in Nashville, has always shunned publicity, and rarely accompanies his wife to any events. She has no children with her husband Carl Thomas Dean but she is the godmother of singer-songwriter and actress Miley Cyrus.
Dolly Parton Career & Profession
Country music success
In 1967, musician and country music entertainer Porter Wagoner invited her to join his organization, offering her a regular spot on his weekly syndicated television program The Porter Wagoner Show, and in his road show. As documented in her 1994 autobiography, initially, much of Wagoner’s audience was unhappy that Norma Jean, the performer whom she had replaced, had left the show, and was reluctant to accept her.
Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner in 1969
Her first solo single for RCA Victor, “Just Because I’m a Woman”, was released in the summer of 1968 and was a moderate chart hit, reaching number 17. For the next two years, none of her solo efforts-even “In the Good Old Days. Wagoner had a significant financial stake in her future, as of 1969, he was her co-producer and owned nearly half of Owe-Par, the publishing company Dolly Parton had founded with Bill Owens.
Both Dolly Parton and Wagoner had grown frustrated by her lack of solo chart success. Wagoner persuaded Dolly Parton to record Jimmie Rodgers’ “Mule Skinner Blues’, a gimmick that worked. The record shot to number three, followed closely, in February 1971, by her first number-one single, “Joshua”. Although her solo singles and the Wagoner duets were successful, her biggest hit of this period was “Jolene”.
Dolly Parton performing at WBAP’s County Gold in 1974
Dolly, who had always envisioned a solo career, makes the decision to leave Wagoner’s organization, the pair performed their last duet concert in April 1974, and she stopped appearing on his TV show, in mid-1974, although they remained affiliated. In 1974, her song, “I Will Always Love You”, written about her professional break from Wagoner, went to number one on the country chart.
Around the same time, Elvis Presley indicated that he wanted to record the song. She was interested until Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker. She refused. That decision has been credited with helping to make her many millions of dollars in royalties from the song over the years.
In a 2019 episode of the Sky Arts music series Brian Johnson: A Life on the Road, Dolly Parton described finding old cassette tapes and realizing that she had composed both “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” in the same songwriting session, telling Johnson “Buddy, that was a good night.” Dolly Parton again topped the singles chart in 1975 with “The Bargain Store”.
Pop transition
She had a series of country hits, with eight singles reaching number one between 1974 and 1980. Her influence on pop culture is reflected by the many performers covering her songs, including mainstream and crossover artists such as Olivia Newton-John, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt.
She starts to embark on a high-profile crossover campaign, attempting to aim her music in a more mainstream direction and increase her visibility outside of the confines of country music. Dolly Parton starts working closely with Sandy Gallin, who served as her personal manager for the next 25 years.
With her 1976 album All I Can Do, which she co-produced with Porter Wagoner, she starts taking more of an active role in production, and start specifically aiming her music in a more mainstream, pop direction.
Dolly Parton’s 1976 album All I Can Do
Her first entirely self-produced effort, New Harvest, First Gathering in 1977, highlighted her pop sensibilities, both in terms of choice of songs- the album contained covers of the pop and R&B classics ” My Girl” and “Higher and Higher”- and production. Though the album was well received and topped the U.S. country albums chart, neither it nor its single “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” made much of an impression on the pop charts.
She turned to high-profile pop producer Gary Klein for her next album. The result, 1977’s Here You Come Again, became her first million-seller, topping the country album chart and reaching number 20 on the pop chart. Her albums during this period were developed specifically for pop-crossover success. She won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her Here You Come Again album in 1978.
Dolly Parton won Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1978.
Dolly Parton continued to have hits with “Heartbreaker in 1978, “Baby I’m Burning” in 1979, and “You’re the Only One” in 1979. During this period, her visibility continued to increase, with multiple television appearances. A highly publicized candid interview on a Barbara Walters Special in 1977 was followed by appearances in 1978 on Cher’s ABC television special, and her own joint special with Carol Burnett on CBS, Dolly & Carol in Nashville.
She served as one of three co-hosts on the CBS special Fifty Years of Country Music. She hosted the NBC special The Seventies: An Explosion of Country Music, performed live at the Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C., and whose audience included President Jimmy Carter. Her Commercial success grew in 1980, with three consecutive country chart number-one hits the Donna Summer-written “Starting Over Again”.
Dolly Parton in 1980
The theme song to the 1980 feature film 9 to 5, in which she starred along with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, not only reached number one on the country chart – in February 1981 it reached number one on the pop and the adult-contemporary charts, giving her a triple number-one hit. She became one of the few female country singers to have a number-one single on the country and pop charts simultaneously.
It also received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. A re-recorded version of “I Will Always Love You”, from the feature film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas 2scraped the Top 50 that year, and her duet with Kenny Rogers, “Islands in the Stream” spent two weeks at number one in 1983. However, RCA Records did not renew her contract after it expired in 1986, and she signed with Columbia Records in 1987.
Country and Bluegrass Period
The album revitalized Dolly Parton’s music career, spending five weeks at number one on Billboard’s Country Albums chart, and also reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart. The trio won the Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
After a further attempt at pop success with Rainbow in 1987 including the single “The River Unbroken”, it ended up a commercial let-down, causing Dolly Parton to focus on recording country material.
Dolly Parton’s single cover The River Unbroken in 1987
Although Dolly Parton’s career appeared to be revived, it was actually just a brief revival before contemporary country music came in the early 1990s and moved most veteran artists off the charts. A duet with Ricky Van Shelton, “Ricky Van Shelton, “Rockin’ Years” in 1991 reached number one, Dolly’s greatest commercial fortune of the decade came when Whitney Houston recorded ” I Will Always Love You” for the soundtrack of the feature film The Bodyguard in 1992.
Her soundtrack album from the 1992 film, Straight Talk, however, was less successful. She recorded “The Day I Fal in Love” as a duet with James Ingram for the feature film Beethoven,s 2nd in 1993. The songwriters were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and Dolly Parton and Ingram performed the song at the awards telecast. It was certified as a gold album by the Recording Industry Association of America and helped revive both Wynette and Lynn’s careers.
Dolly Parton stream You Gotta Be My Baby in 1994
Also in 1994, Dolly Parton contributed the song “You Gotta Be My Baby” to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot Country produced by the Red Hot Organization. Her recorded music during the mid-to-late 1990s remained steady and somewhat eclectic. Her 1995 re-recording of “I Will Always Love You” from her album Something Special won the Country Music Association’s Vocal Event of the Year Award.
Her recording of Stevens’ “Peace Train” was later re-mixed and released as a dance single, reaching Billboard’s dance singles chart. A second and more contemporary collaboration with Harris and Ronstadt, Trio II, was released in early 1999. Its cover of Neil Young’s song “After the Gold Rush” won a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.
Dolly Parton sings Neil Young’s song After the Gold Rush
Dolly Parton also was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999. She recorded a series of Bluegrass-inspired albums, beginning with The Grass Is Blue in 1999, winning a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album, and Little Sparrow in 2001, with its cover of Collective Soul’s “Shine” winning a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.
In 2005, she released Those Were The Days consisting of her interpretations of hits from the folk-rock era of the late 1960s and early 1970s, including “Imagine”, “Where Do the Children Play?”, “Crimson and Clover”, and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”
Touring and Holding Album
She earned her second Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song for “Travelin’ Thru” which she wrote specifically for the feature film Transamerica. Dolly Parton returned to number one on the country chart later in 2005 by lending her distinctive harmonies to the Brad Paisley ballad, “When I Get Where I’m Going”. She released her first single from her own record company, She Records, titled, “Better Get to Livin”, which eventually peaked at number 48 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
Dolly Parton’s first single song Better Get to Livin for her own record company
On 26th February 2008, It was followed by the studio album Backwoods Barbie, which was released and reached number two on the country chart. Backwoods Barbie produced four additional singles, including the title track, written as part of her score for 9 to 5: The Musical, an adaptation of her feature film.
After the death of Michael Jackson, whom Dolly Parton knew personally, she released a video in which she somberly told of her feelings on Jackson and his death. She released a four-CD box set, Dolly which featured 99 seconds and most of her career. Dolly Parton released her second live DVD and album, Live From London in October 2009.
Dolly Parton is featured on “The Right Time”, which she co-wrote with Cyrus and Morris Joseph Tancredi. On January 6, 2011, Dolly Parton announced that her new album would be titled Better Day. She announced that she would embark on the Better Day World Tour on 17th July 2011, with shows in northern Europe and the U.S. The album’s lead-off single, “Together You and I” was released on 23rd May 2011, and Better Day was released on 28th June 2011.
Dolly Parton single released Together You and I in 2011
She voiced the character Dolly Gnome in the animated film Gnomeo & Juliet in 2011. After the sudden death of Whitney Houston, she stated, “Mine is only one of the millions of hearts broken over the death of Whitney Houston. I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song, and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, ‘Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.’
She joined Lulu Roman for a re-recording of “I Will Always Love You” for Roman’s album, At Last in 2013. In 2014, Dolly Parton embarked on the Blue Smoke World Tour in support of her 42nd studio album, Blue Smoke. The album was first released in Australia and New Zealand on January 31 to coincide with tour dates there in February and reached the Top 10 in both countries.
It was released in the United States on May 13, and debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 chart, making it her first Top 10 album and her highest-charting solo album ever; it also reached number two on the U.S. country chart.
Dolly Parton’s Blue Smoke album
The album was released in Europe on June 9 and reached number two on the UK album chart. She performed for the first time at the UK Glastonbury Festival performing songs such as “Jolene” “9to5” and “Coat of Many Colors” to a crowd of more than 180000. The tour was one of Dolly Parton’s biggest tours in the United States in more than 25 years.
She released “Jolene” as a single with the Cappella group Pentatonix and performed on The Voice with Pentatonix and Miley Cyrus in November 2016. She was one of thirty artists to perform on “Forever Country” a mash-up of the songs, “Take Me Home, Country Roads,”, “On the Road Again” and her own “I Will Always Love You”.
Dolly Parton was honored with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented by Lily Tomlin and preceded by a tribute featuring Jennifer Nettles, Pentatonix, Reba McEntire, Kacey Musgraves, Carrie Underwood, and Martina McBride. Dolly Parton appeared on Rainbow, the third studio album by Kesha performing a duet of “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You”.
Dolly Parton appeared in the duet Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You
The track had been co-written by Kesha’s mother Pebe Sebert. It was previously a hit for Dolly Parton and was included in her 1980 album Dolly, Dolly, Dolly. On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Dolly Parton as one of the hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
Dolly Parton made an unannounced appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island and performed several songs accompanied by the Highwomen and Linda Perry in July 2019. She received worldwide attention after posting four pictures in which she showed how she would present herself on the social media platforms LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
On April 10, 2020, Dolly Parton re-released 93 songs from six of her classic albums. Little Sparrow, Halos & Horns, For God and Country, Better Day, Those Were The Days, and Live and Well are all available for online listening.
Dolly Parton Solo Album Little Sparrow
On May 27, 2020, Dolly Parton released a brand new song called “When Life Is Good Again”. This song was released to help keep the spirits up of those affected by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Dolly Parton also released a music video for “When Life Is Good Again” which premiered on Time 100 talks on May 28, 2020. In October 2022, Dolly Parton stated in an interview that she would no longer tour, but would continue to play live shows occasionally.
Acting Career
Acting Breakthrough
In addition to her performing appearances on The Porter Wagoner Show in the 1960s and into the 1970s, her two self-titled television variety shows in the 1970s and 1980s and on American Idol in 2008, and other guest appearances, She has had television roles. Dolly Parton received an Emmy award nomination for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Variety Program” for her guest appearance in a Cher special. During the mid-1970s she wanted to expand her audience base.
Dolly Parton acting in The Porter Wagoner Show in 1960
Although her first attempt, the television variety show Dolly! had high ratings, it lasted only one person, with Dolly Parton writing and recording the film’s title song. Dolly Parton was named Top Female Box Office Star by the Motion Picture Herald in both 1981 and 1982 due to the film’s success. She started filming her second film, the musical film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas 1982 in late 1981.
Dolly Parton acted in The Best Little Whorehouse in 1982
The film was greeted with positive critical reviews and became a commercial success, earning over $69 million worldwide. After a two-year hiatus from films, Dolly Parton was teamed with Sylvester Stallone for Rhinestone 1984. A comedy film about a country music star’s efforts to mold an unknown into a music sensation, the film was a critical and financial failure, making just over $21 million on a $28 million budget.
Continued Roles
She returned to film acting in Steel Magnolias in 1989, based on the play of the same name by Robert Harling in 1989. The film was popular with critics and audiences, grossing over $95 million inside the U.S. Dolly Parton starred along with James Woods in Straight Talk 1992, which received mixed reviews, and grossed a mild $21 million at the box office. Dolly Parton’s 1987 variety show Dolly lasted only one season.
Dally Parton acted in Straight Talk 1992
She made a cameo appearance as herself in The Beverly Hillbillies 1993, an adaptation of the long-running TV sitcom of the same name 1962–71. She also has guest-starred in several sitcoms, including a 1990 episode of Designing Women episode “The First Day of the Last Decade of the Entire Twentieth Century” as herself, the guardian movie star of Charlene’s baby.
She made a guest appearance on Reba’s episode “Reba’s Rules of Real Estate” portraying a real-estate agency owner and on The Simpsons episode “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday”, 1999. She made cameo appearances on the Disney Channel as “Aunt Dolly”, visiting Hannah and her family in fellow Tennessean and real-life goddaughter Miley Cyrus’s series Hannah Montana. She was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
Dolly Parton acted in Hannah Montana as Aunt Dolly
She was featured in The Book Lady 2008, a documentary about her campaign for children’s literacy. Dolly Parton expected to reprise her television role as Hannah’s godmother in the musical comedy film Hannah Montana: The Movie 2009, but the character was omitted from the screenplay.
Recent Work
Dolly Parton co-starred with Queen Latifah in the musical film Joyful Noise 2012, playing a choir director’s widow who joins forces with Latifah’s character, a mother of two teens, to save a small Georgia town’s gospel choir. She also had a cameo in the sequel, which aired in November 2016. She announced an eight-part Netflix series, featuring her music career in June 2018. Dolly Parton is the subject of the NPR podcast Dolly Parton’s America.
NPR podcast Dolly Parton’s America
It is hosted by Jad Abumrad, who also hosts Radiolab. The biographical documentary Here I Am was added to the catalog of the Netflix streaming service. In November 2020, Dolly Parton produced and starred in the Netflix musical film Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, which won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie.
In July 2022, Dolly Parton appeared as a simulation of herself on the sci-fi show The Orville in the episode “Midnight Blue”.In December 2022, Dolly Parton appeared in an NBC special titled “Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas.”
Other Ventures
Songwriting
She is a prolific songwriter, having started by writing country music songs with strong elements of folk music, based on her upbringing in humble mountain surroundings and reflecting her family’s Christian background. Her songs ” Coat of Many Colors”, ” I Will Always Love You”, and “Jolene”, among others, have become classics. She was honored as a BMI Icon at the 2003 BMI Country Awards. She has earned over 35 BMI Pop and Country Awards.
Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors poster
She songwriting has been featured prominently in several films. Whitney Houston performed it on The Bodyguard soundtrack and her version became the best-selling hit both written and performed by a female vocalist, with worldwide sales of over twelve million copies. In addition, the song has been translated into Italian and performed by the Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins.
She has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, for “9 to 5” and “Travelin’ Thru” in 2005 from the film Transamerica. “Travelin’ Thru” won Best Original Song at the 2005 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards. It was also nominated for both the 2005 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the 2005 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Song. A cover of “Love Is Like A Butterfly” by Clare Torry was used as the theme music for the British TV show Butterflies.
The Musical
The musical ran at the Ahmanson Theatre, in Los Angeles in late 2008. The title track of her 2008, album Backwoods Barbie was written for the musical’s character Doralee. Dolly Parton received nominations for Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, as well as a nomination for Tony Award for Best Original Score.
Dolly Parton’s title track of album Backwoods Barbie 2008
The Musical was read for industry presentations. The readings starred Megan Hilty, Allison Janney, Stephanie J. Block, Bebe Neuwirth, and Marc Kudisch. Ambassador Theatre Group announced a 2012 UK tour for Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5, The Musical, commencing at Manchester Opera House, on October 12, 2012.
The Dollywood Company
She invested much of her earnings into business ventures in her native East Tennessee, notably Pigeon Forge. Dolly Parton is a co-owner of The Dollywood Company, which operates the theme park Dollywood, a dinner theater, Dolly Parton’s Stampede, the waterpark Dollywood’s Splash Country, and the Dream More Resort and Spa, all in Pigeon Forge. The Dolly Patron’s Stampede business has venues in Branson, Missouri, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Dolly Parton Dollywood theme park
A former location in Orlando, Florida, closed in January 2008, after the land and building were sold to a developer. The Myrtle Beach location became Pirates Voyage Fun, Feast, and Adventure, She appeared for the opening, and the South Carolina General Assembly declared On 3rd 2011 as Dolly Parton Day. On January 19, 2012, Dolly Parton’s 66th birthday, Gaylord Opryland and Dollywood announced plans to open a $50 million water and snow park, a family-friendly destination in Nashville that is open all year.
Dolly Parton Dollywood White Limozeen Rooftop Bar in Nashville
On September 29, 2012, Dolly Parton officially withdrew her support for the Nashville park due to the restructuring of Gaylord Entertainment Company after its merger with Marriott International. On June 12, 2015, it was announced that the Dollywood Company had purchased the Lumberjack Feud Dinner Show in Pigeon Forge.
Production Work
She was a co-owner of Sandollar Productions, with Sandy Gallin, her former manager. A film and television production company, it produced the documentary Common Threads: Stories From the Quit in 1989, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary, the television series Babes in 1990-1991 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the feature films Father of the Bride.
Dolly Parton Sandollar Productions
After the retirement of her partner, Sandy Gallin, Dolly Parton briefly operated Dolly Parton’s Southern Light Productions and in 2015 she announced her new production company would be called Dixie Pixie Productions and produce the movies-of-week in development with NBC Television and Magnolia Hill Productions.
Dolly Parton Awards & Honors
She is one of the most-honored female country performers of all time. The Record Industry Association of America has certified 25 of her single or album releases as either Gold Record, Platinum Record, or Multi-Plantinum Record. She has 42 career Top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and 110 career-charted singles over the past forty years. As of 2012 she had written more than 3,000 songs and sold more than 100 million records.
As of 2021, she had appeared on the country music charts in each of seven decades, the most of any artist. She earned eleven Grammy Awards and a total of fifty Grammy Award nominations, the second-most nominations of any female artist in the history of the prestigious awards. She has won ten awards out of 42 nominations. She is one of only six female artists, to win the Country Music Association’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year in 1978.
Dolly Parton won the Grammy Award
Dolly Parton also has been nominated for two Academy Awards and a Tony Award. Dolly Parton was nominated for an Emmy Award for her appearance in a 1978 Cher television special. She has called that statue of herself in her hometown “the greatest honor” because it came from the people who knew her. Dolly Parton was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1969, and in 1986 was named one of Ms. Magazine’s Women of the Year.
In 1986, she was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Dolly Parton received an honorary doctorate degree from Carson-Newman College in 1990. She was honored in 2003 with a tribute album called Just Because I’m a Woman, Songs of Dolly Parton. The artists who recorded versions of Dolly Parton’s songs included Melissa Etheridge, Alison Krauss, Shania Twain, Meshell Ndegeocello, Norah Jones, and Sinéad O’Connor.
Dolly Parton Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
On 14th April 2004, she was awarded the Living Legend Medal by the U.S. Library of Congress. Dolly Parton is also the focus of a Library of Congress collection exploring the influences of country music on her life and career. She was honored with the National Medal of Arts, the highest honor given by the U.S. government for excellence in the arts.
Dolly Parton received the Kennedy Center Honors from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Carrie Underwood performed “Islands in the Stream” with Rogers, Dolly Parton’s original duet partner. Krauss performed “Jolene” and duetted “Coat of Many Colors” with Twain. McEntire and Reese Witherspoon also came to pay tribute.
Dolly Parton received Kennedy Center Honors
On November 16, 2010, Dolly Parton accepted the Liseberg Applause Award, the theme park industry’s most prestigious honor, on behalf of the Dollywood theme park during a ceremony held at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2010 in Orlando, Florida. A newly discovered species of lichen found growing in the southern Appalachians were named Japewiella dollypartoniana in honor of Dolly’s music and her efforts to bring national and global attention to that region in 2015.
She was also recognized in the Guinness World Records 2018 Edition for holding records for the Most Decades with a Top 20 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart and Most Hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Chart by a Female Artist. Dolly Parton has turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom twice due to her husband’s illness and the ongoing pandemic.
Dolly Parton Guinness World Records
In response to a 2021 proposal by the Tennessee legislature to erect a statue of Dolly Parton, she released a statement asking the legislature to remove the bill from consideration, saying “Given all that is going on in the world, I don’t think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time.”
In late 2022, Dolly Parton received a $100-million Courage and Civility Award from the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos. According to Bezos, the award was given to Dolly Parton because of her charity work focused on improving children’s literacy around the world.
Hall of Fame Honors
- Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1986.
- Small Town of America Hall of Fame in 1988.
- East Tennessee Hall of Fame in 1988.
- Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
- Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001.
- Junior Achievement of East Tennessee Business Hall of Fame in 2003.
- The Americana Highway Hall of Fame in 2006.
- Grammy Hall of Fame – “I Will Always Love You – 1974 Recording” in 2007.
- Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame – Songwriter Category in 2008.
- Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
- Music City Walk of Fame in 2009.
- Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2010.
- Grammy Hall of Fame – “Jolene – 1974 Recording” in 2014.
- The National Hall of Fame for Mountain Artisans in 2014.
- The Happiness Hall of Fame in 2016.
- East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame in 2019.
- Grammy Hall of Fame – “Coat of Many Colors – 1971 Recording” in 2019.
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
Dolly Parton Discography
Studio albums
- Hello, I’m Dolly in 1967.
- Just Between You and Me in 1968.
- Just Because I’m a Woman in 1968.
- Just the Two of Us in 1968.
- In the Good Old Days in 1969.
- Always, Always in 1969.
- My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy in 1969.
- The Fairest of Them All in 1970.
- Porter Wayne and Dolly Rebecca in 1970.
- Once More in 1970.
- Two of a Kind in 1971.
- The Golden Streets of Glory in 1971.
- Joshua in 1971.
- Coat of Many Colors in 1971.
- The Right Combination • Burning the Midnight Oil in 1972.
- Touch Your Woman in 1972.
- Together Always in 1972.
- My Favorite Songwriter, Porter Wagoner in 1972.
- We Found It in 1973.
- My Tennessee Mountain Home in 1973.
- Love and Music in 1973.
- Bubbling Over in 1973.
- Jolene in 1974.
- Porter ‘n’ Dolly in 1974.
- Love Is Like a Butterfly in 1974.
- The Bargain Store in 1975.
- Say Forever You’ll Be Mine in 1975.
- Dolly in 1975.
- All I Can Do in 1976.
- New Harvest…First Gathering in 1977.
- Here You Come Again in 1977.
- Heartbreaker in 1978.
- Great Balls of Fire in 1979.
- Dolly, Dolly, Dolly in 1980.
- Porter & Dolly in 1980.
- 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs in 1980.
- Heartbreak Express in 1982.
- Burlap & Satin in 1983.
- The Great Pretender in 1984.
- Once Upon a Christmas in 1984.
- Real Love in 1985.
- Trio in 1987.
- Rainbow in 1987.
- White Limozeen in 1989.
- Home for Christmas in 1990.
- Eagle When She Flies in 1991.
- Slow Dancing with the Moon in 1993.
- Honky Tonk Angels in 1993.
- Something Special in 1995.
- Treasures in 1996.
- Hungry Again in 1998.
- Trio II in 1999.
- Precious Memories in 1999.
- The Grass Is Blue in 1999.
- Little Sparrow in 2001.
- Halos & Horns in 2002.
- For God and Country in 2003.
- Those Were the Days in 2005.
- Backwoods Barbie in 2008.
- Better Day in 2011.
- Blue Smoke in 2014.
- Pure & Simple in 2016.
- I Believe in You in 2017.
- A Holly Dolly Christmas in 2020.
- Run, Rose, Run in 2022.
Filmography
- 9 to 5 in 1980.
- The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in 1982.
- Rhinestone in 1984.
- Steel Magnolias in 1989.
- Straight Talk in 1992.
- Frank McKlusky, C.I. in 2002.
- Gnomeo & Juliet in 2011.
- Joyful Noise in 2012.
Dolly Parton’s Net Worth
Dolly Parton’s net worth is estimated at $650 million dollars. Her profession is a famous American Songwriter, Actress, and Businesswoman she does so many works and earned money from them. Her annual salary is $85 million a year as of January 2023. She lives joyfully with her husband and family.
Dolly Parton’s Social Handles
- Instagram: dollyparton
- Facebook: DollyParton
- Twitter: DollyParton
- Soundcloud: dollyparton
Dolly Parton Amazing Facts
- Parton’s mother, Avie Lee, cared for their large family.
- She credits her musical abilities to her mother, often in poor health, but she still managed to keep house and entertain her children with Smoky Mountain folklore and ancient ballads.
- Dolly Parton was a young girl, her family moved from the Pittman Center area to a farm up on nearby Locust Ridge.
- Dolly Parton has described her family as being “dirt poor”.
- Dolly Parton’s father paid missionary, Dr. Robert F. Thomas, with a sack of cornmeal for delivering her.
- Dolly Parton began performing as a child, singing on local radio and television programs in the East Tennessee area.
- Her songs were recorded by many other artists during this period, including Kitty Wells and Hank Williams Jr.
- Her first country single, “Dumb Blonde”, reached number 24 on the country chart in 1967, followed by “Something Fishy”, which went to number 17.
- She, though influenced by big-name stars, often credits much of her inspiration to her family and community.
- Her biggest influence however was her Aunt Dorothy Jo, “People often ask me who my influences were, they think I’m going to say some big names, and there were a few ‘stars’ I was impressed with.
- Dolly Parton has also used her fingernails as an instrument, most evident in her 1980 song “9 to 5”, from which she derived the beat from clicking her nails together while backstage on the set of the film of the same name.
- Dolly Parton has supported many charitable efforts, particularly in the area of literacy, primarily through her Dollywood Foundation.
- Her literacy program, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a part of the Dollywood Foundation, mails one book per month to each enrolled child from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten.
- She was honored by the Library of Congress on account of the “charity sending out its 100 million books”.
- Dolly Parton also has worked to raise money for several other causes, including the American Red Cross and HIV/AIDS-related charities.
- She pledged $500,000 toward a proposed $90 million hospital and cancer center to be constructed in Sevierville in the name of Robert F.
- Dolly Parton received the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution at a ceremony in Nashville.
- She has received various, including the Association of American Publishers Honors Award in 2000, and the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval in 2001.
- Dolly Parton gave the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s College of Arts and Sciences.
- Dolly Parton was one of a number of country music artists who participated in a telethon to raise money for victims of the fires.
- Dolly Parton has been a generous donor to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
- Dolly Parton donated $1 million towards research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and encouraged those who can afford it to make similar donations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Dolly Parton was vaccinated against COVID-19 at Vanderbilt University.
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